What to watch for: Panthers at Bills

An in-depth look inside the Bills-Panthers matchup

BUFFALO HOSTS CAROLINA IN WEEK TWOThe Buffalo Bills will host the Carolina Panthers in Week Two of the regular season on Sunday, September 15th at 1:00 PM ET. With a Week One match-up at home against New England, the Bills are opening the season with back-to-back home games for the first time since 2000.

Sunday’s game will be the sixth regular season meeting between Buffalo and Carolina and the fourth time the two teams will have met at Ralph Wilson Stadium.

With a win over the Panthers on Sunday, the Bills will:• Improve to 5-1 all-time against Carolina

Buffalo will make its first road trip of the 2013 regular season next week with a 4:25 PM match-up at the New York Jets on Sunday, September 22nd.

BILLS-PANTHERS SERIESBuffalo and Carolina will meet for the sixth time in the regular season this week. The Bills hold a 4-1 advantage in the series against the Panthers. Sunday’s game will mark the fourth time Carolina will have traveled to Buffalo in series history. The Bills defeated the Panthers in each of their first two trips to Western New York (1995 and 2005).

NOTABLE CONNECTIONSFORMER BILLS/PANTHERS• The NFL career of Panthers GM Dave Gettleman began in 1986 as a Bills scouting department intern. From 1987-92, Gettleman worked as a full-time scout for Buffalo.• Panthers Asst. OL Coach Ray Brown held the same position with the Bills from 2008-09. In both of his years in Buffalo, the offensive line blocked for 1,000-yard rushers.• Carolina Asst. ST Coach Bruce DeHaven coached the Bills’ special teams unit from 1987-99 and 2010-12. The Bills ranked first in the NFL in 2012 with a 17.1 yard punt return average. Buffalo also excelled on kickoff coverage under DeHaven, leading the NFL in 2011 by limiting opponents to 20.4 yards per return. From 1987-99, From 1987-99, DeHaven was part of a Bills era that included four consecutive Super Bowl appearances and six AFC East championships.• Panthers DT Dwan Edwards played in Buffalo from 2010-11, tallying 109 tackles, 3.5 sacks and one interception in 27 games played (24 starts).

AREA CONNECTIONS• Panthers CB Josh Thomas attended the University at Buffalo from 2007-10. He majored in sociology.• Bills Asst. to the HC Stephen Brown is a native of Charlotte, N.C. Brown in 2005 graduated from Providence High School, which is 20 minutes away from the Panthers’ home field, Bank of America Stadium.• Buffalo College Scout Tom Roth currently resides in Charlotte.

NFL CONNECTIONS• Bills TE Scott Chandler and Panthers LB Chase Blackburn and WR Domenik Hixon were members of the New York Giants in 2009. • Chandler was also a teammate of Panthers RB Mike Tolbert in San Diego in 2008.• Bills DT Alan Branch and Panthers QB Derek Anderson were teammates in Arizona during the 2010 season.• Bills RT Erik Pears played on the same Broncos offense as Panthers WR Domenik Hixon in 2007.• Bills LB Manny Lawson and Panthers WR Ted Ginn were 49ers teammates in 2010.• Panthers K Graham Gano was Redskins teammates with Bills RB Tashard Choice.

WHAT TO LOOK FOROFFENSEQB EJ Manuel• Two touchdown passes to match Joe Ferguson (1973 - 4) for the third-most among Bills rookie quarterbacks in a single-seasonRB C.J. Spiller• 13 all-purpose yards to reach 4,500 in his NFL career (2,129 rushing, 899 receiving, 1,157 kick return and 302 punt return)RB Fred Jackson• One rushing touchdown to mark the 20th of his career • Needs 138 yards from scrimmage to pass Joe Cribbs (6,228) for fifth-place on the all-time Bills chart• 148 rushing yards to surpass Joe Cribbs (4,445) for third in team historyWR Stevie Johnson• Sunday’s game will mark the 65th of his NFL career• Will extend his current streak of consecutive games with a catch to 50 with a reception on SundayTE Scott Chandler• Four receptions to record 90 in his NFL career OL Kraig Urbik• Is penciled in to make the 30th start of his career on SundayDEFENSEDE Mario Williams• Is scheduled to play and start the 100th game of his NFL career on Sunday• 1.5 sacks to register 65.0 in his NFL career DT Kyle Williams• 0.5 a sack to become the 11th Bill with 20 or more in their career CB Justin Rogers• Will set a personal single-season best of two interceptions with his next pick (1 in 2011, 2012 and 2013)FS Jairus Byrd• One multi-interception game to become the third Bill with five multi-pick games (Tom Janik - 6 and Billy Atkins - 5)SPECIAL TEAMSK Dan Carpenter• With his next touchback on a kickoff, will record the 100th touchback of his NFL career P Shawn Powell• Three punts inside-the-20 to match Bill Atkins’ mark of 29 for ninth-most in team history